November 17, 2025
Pakistan has won the basmati trademark dispute which is definitely a major boost for Pakistan’s rice export sector. India Pakistan basmati fight which was been under jurisdiction in the New Zealand High Court concerning the ownership and trademark rights of Basmati rice also dismissed an appeal filed by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) against the rejection of its application for a certification trademark for Indian basmati.
In the basmati ownership battle the Indian food export authority tried to register Basmati as a certification mark in New Zealand, which would have restricted the sale of Basmati rice in New Zealand exclusively to Indian-grown rice.
Basmati Trademark Dispute Find its Root Back in February 2019
Six years back, in February 2019, APEDA approached the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) for basmati rice trademark solely to India. However, this application was rejected by the IPONZ in July 2024. Post the rejection, Indian Authority appealed to the High Court of New Zealand for the Basmati trademark issue. Now, the High Court of New Zealand has now upheld the IPONZ decision leaving India appeal rejected with claims that New Zealand consumers do not exclusively associate Basmati with Indian rice.
What has led to Pakistan win in basmati trademark dispute is the New Zealand observation that the Basmati Growing Area covers regions in both Pakistan and India. The court said giving India exclusive certification would place Pakistani basmati producers at an unfair disadvantage and limit their ability to sell in the New Zealand market. Further, New Zealand Basmati trademark verdict view Basmati as a descriptor of a particular type of rice rather than a geographical indicator tied solely to India. Granting APEDA exclusive rights would have unfairly excluded Pakistani producers from the New Zealand market.
REAP Welcomes the Ruling of New Zealand Court
As soon as the news surfaced that “Pakistan wins basmati case”, Rafique Suleman, former chairman of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and a senior member of the Businessmen Panel (BMP) at the FPCCI, welcomed the ruling and said that New Zealand High Court decided the matter on merit. He further said that India has repeatedly tried to mislead international markets on basmati rice, but Pakistan basmati victory has now finally reaffirmed Pakistan’s position in the global basmati market.
He said that the Court Order repeatedly recognises Pakistan as a legitimate grower of Basmati rice and now the win of Pakistan in Basmati trademark dispute will further strengthen Pakistan’s position in other international jurisdictions where APEDA has filed similar claims and Pakistan is defending the matter.